Take Me Away
by ALostGirlsLastChance
Summary: Seventeen year old Marisol 'Mari' Blanchard was just your average Storybrooke resident, going to school, babysitting Henry, and working the night shift with Ruby at Granny's. Then some chick who happens to be Henry's birth mom shows up, breaks a curse, and gives everyone their lost memories back. Now THAT'S when things get messy. As if they weren't already messy enough.
1. Chapter 1

**Take Me Away**

**Chapter One**

* * *

><p><em>I was absolutely <em>surrounded _by noise. Young boys ran about, screaming and dancing around the bonfire burning in front of me, but they were all a massive blur. The only things there were to really focus on were the fire itself and the boy sitting beside me. He was tall and lean, with light brown hair and dazzling blue-green eyes with a hint of grey. He smirked at me, something dangerously mischievous about him. I sent him a glare before pointedly staring at the fire. I didn't like that smirk of his. It always meant trouble for me. _

_After a minute of tense silence between the two of us I glanced back up to see him looking at me, clearly never having stopped._

_"Let's play a game," I offered suddenly. He quirked an eyebrow, silently letting me continue. "I'm in the mood for a round of hide and seek."_

_He smirked, leaning over and looking me in the eye. "What are the rules?"_

_"It's just you, me, and the island. No magic, no help from outsiders, no interference from outsiders, at all. I have thirty minutes to run, and you have an hour to look for me. If you don't find _and_ catch me in an hour or less, I win." I let out a breath, hoping he would buy into the game. He nodded, mulling it over._

_"The stakes?"_

_"If you win, you get whatever it is you want from me. If I win, you take me back to my sister. You let me go. I never have to come back here unless I choose to come back of my own free will. Do we have a deal?" I bit my lip, knowing I was raising some pretty high stakes. If he got whatever he wanted, well, I was screwed. Anything he wanted was usually vile. _

_He leaned in farther, our noses touching and our eyes locked in a stare-down that made breathing difficult. _

_"You won't like it when I win," he growled. "Now run."_

_Without thinking, I shoved him back and bolted as though my life depended on it. Considering it did, I ran as fast as I possibly could._

_Before I disappeared into the forest I heard him call after me._

_"Don't think I won't find you, Marisol! I always do."_

* * *

><p>My eyes flickered open, sunlight streaming into the room of my sister's apartment. It took me a second to gather my surroundings, but once I did I felt myself breathe a sigh of relief. Whoever was coming after me hadn't found me. I was okay.<p>

_Wait, _I thought to myself with a shake of my head, _nobody's coming after me. It was just a dream_. I thought this over, sliding out of bed to get ready for the day. It was just another weird dream. I had them all the time, it was no big deal. I was okay. But I couldn't get his words out of my mind.

_Don't think I won't find you, Marisol! I always do. _

_Well, _I thought to myself,_ whoever you are — you haven't found me yet. Let's keep it that way. _


	2. Chapter 2

**Take Me Away**

**Chapter Two**

* * *

><p>I sighed, shutting my locker and making my way to the elementary wing of the school. I arrived at the classroom of Ms. Mary Margaret Blanchard just as a bunch of ten year-olds were set loose for lunch. I stumbled into the door-frame as a familiar little brunette slammed into me, arms coming around me in a hug. I looked down to find Henry Mills grinning up at me.<p>

"Hey Shorty. Somebody slip you a caffeine pill or what?" I asked with a laugh.

"Today's just … a good day," he explained. "Can't you feel it? Everything's about to change."

"Is that so?" I asked lightly, feeling a chill run down my spine. I was never a fan of change. "Tell me more about it when I pick you up after school. Now go get some food in your stomach!" I sent him off with a smile, watching the door swing shut behind him. I made my way over to my older sister's desk, pulling up a chair and taking a seat.

"I made pasta," Mary said with a grin. She popped it in her little microwave and took a seat in her chair.

"How was your day so far, Mary Marshmallow?" She shook her head at the use of the nickname I'd given her so many years ago.

"Just great, _Seabiscuit_," she smirked. I rolled my eyes, a blush coloring my cheeks at that. The microwave went off a minute later and she served me my pasta. I picked at it, slicing a meatball in half and pushing my spaghetti around.

"So its nice out today," I said casually. Mary Margaret tilted her head slightly, looking at me closely.

"Mari, what's the matter?" she asked softly. I shook my head.

"Just another weird dream is all," I muttered. "He said he would always find me – and I don't mean in that cutesy 'if ever you're lost I'll find you' way. He said it in the 'you're mine' possessive type of way."

"Why'd he say that?"

"I offered to play hide and seek. If I won, he'd take me back to you. If I lost, he could have whatever it was he wanted. And when I was running, he said _don't think I won't find you, Marisol! I always do._"

"Mari, relax, you're safe," she said softly. I looked at her in confusion until I realized I was shaking. Oh.

"No, no, I'm fine. Just … yeah, no, I'm fine. Don't worry about me," I said with a shake of my head.

"I'm _always_ gonna worry about you," she said with a smile. "You're my sister."

"I love you," I said with a nod.

"I love you too."

We ate the rest of our meal with small talk and a really nice peaceful feeling. Mary Margaret told me about how the head doctor and the hospital she volunteered at had been flirting with her recently, and I told her about my flunking physics. Clearly, I got scolded for "letting" my grades drop (as if anyone understands physics), but otherwise all conversation was light and pleasant. At one o' clock the bell rang so I said goodbye to my sister and made my way to my next class. I was ready to finish the school day before going to pick up Henry and take him with me to work.

* * *

><p>Granny's is a nice little diner that everyone in town goes to. I work with Granny's granddaughter Ruby, spending my days as a waitress. It's pretty fun, too, considering she's my best friend and all. My shift starts at four and lasts until closing time at midnight. Henry and I would pop in before my shift and have lunch together, or in my case dinner, sharing hot chocolate with whipped cream and cinnamon on top for dessert. It was a weird little quirk I'd passed onto him in our time together. Henry really liked spending the day at the diner, despite the fact that I forced him to do his homework the minute I started my shift, and he wasn't a fan of going home but I would take my break at seven since that's when his mom wanted me to take him back to their place.<p>

I sat through trig and English, waiting for the two-thirty bell that would signal my freedom. When it rang like the music to my ears that it was, I was the first one out of the classroom. I made my way to my locker, swapping my unnecessary books with the necessary ones, grabbing my coat and locking the locker again. I made my way out of the building, heading to the tree where Henry would wait for me. I got there at two-forty like I always did, but Henry was nowhere in sight.

I waited five minutes, but Henry was still a no-show.

Five more minutes and all I was getting was no Henry and the beginnings of a panic attack.

Swallowing hard, I made my way back inside and headed to my sister's classroom. Sometimes Henry liked to stay behind and have a chat with her about his day, or what they learned, or whatever was on his mind. I was praying to every god out there that this was one of those days.

My hopes were dashed when I bumped into Mary Margaret halfway to her classroom. Henry was definitely not with her.

"Hey Mari," she smiled. "Aren't you supposed to be on your way to the – what's wrong?"

"You haven't seen Henry around have you?" I asked thickly. My stomach felt like it was practicing for a gymnastics tournament and my throat felt as tight as one of Ruby's outfits.

"No … why do you ask?" Mary Margaret asked slowly.

"He wasn't at the tree. Oh my god what if he's been kidnapped? But nobody would screw with the mayor's kid. What if he snapped and finally ran away? What if he got hit by a car and he's in the hospital? Oh my god what if he's dead? Henry's dead!" I cried, turning around and making to dash out of the building. Mary Margaret grabbed my arm, yanking me back before holding me by my shoulders.

"Okay, Mari, listen to me," she demanded. "Henry is not dead. He probably wasn't feeling well and went home."

"Without me?" I cried. "Oh my god Regina's going to kill me. I lost her son. Oh I'm so fired. Dammit she pays so well too."

"Marisol! Get it together! Henry is not lost," Mary Margaret snapped. I flinched, thinking she might smack my dumbass-self across the face. I took a breath, nodding at her.

"So what do we do?"

"We just go searching for him. We check all of his spots, like the castle, the diner, the park, and if we don't find him, we call Regina."

"Right … Regina. Oh man, I'm so gonna lose my job," I murmured.

"Yeah, that's enough of that," Mary Margaret decided. Hauling me out of the school, we set off to find my little lost boy.

* * *

><p>Two hours later, we still had <em>no<em> sign of Henry. We had checked just about everywhere, including his house. I dialed Ruby, listening to the phone ring twice before she answered.

"You're late," she grumbled.

"Yeah, hello to you too," I mumbled. "Uh, I don't think I'll be coming in today."

"What? Why not?"

"Because I'd rather not bathe the diner in my blood," I croaked. "You see, I lost Henry, and when she finds out, Regina's going to kill me."


	3. Chapter 3

**Take Me Away**

**Chapter Three**

* * *

><p>"You <em>lost<em> my son?" Regina seethed. "How do you _lose_ my son?"

I flinched, the guilt doubling in my stomach. I felt like I was gonna vomit, but oh how much more screwed I'd be if I puke in one of Regina's potted plants.

"Regina, relax, I'm sure Henry's alright," Mary Margaret attempted to soothe her but Regina just directed her lethal glare from me to my sister.

"Don't you _dare _tell _me_ to relax," Regina ground out. "I've sent out everyone and looked through every inch of Storybrooke and Henry's _nowhere_ to be found. Clearly he's not here, and if he's not here who knows what could happen to him?"

"Regina, I am so sorry," I murmured. My throat felt tight as I imagined all of the things that could be happening to Henry right now. Flashes of vicious murder spun through my mind and I felt like I was going to yank my hair out if Henry didn't show up soon.

"Did I tell you to speak?" Regina snapped. My lips sealed themselves together and I shrunk back into the corner I stood in.

Most people can't even get a flinch out of me, but Regina … boy is she something else. The woman practically radiated power and anger, and something about her seemed so _wrong_ that it made my skin crawl. We never argued since I avoided doing anything wrong, and if she were to yell at me over something I wasn't at fault for she knew I would go right back at her.

But this was different.

This time I _was_ at fault and Henry was gone.

She could yell at me all she wanted. I knew I deserved it. I just lost the kid who was practically family to me. Oh god what was I going to do?

"If my son isn't home by tomorrow, I will see to it that you regret ever waking up today," Regina snapped.

"Regina!" Mary Margaret exclaimed. "She's just a kid. This has gone far enough."

The pair started arguing but my mind shut them out, my thoughts overwhelming me.

If something bad happened to Henry I would never forgive myself. God knows Regina would never forgive me either, and as mayor of Storybrooke she could probably get me and my sister kicked out of town. That would _so_ make my week better. We would have to live on the street and beg for money. Or work the corner. Oh god that would be _so_ bad. Maybe we could move to New York and live amongst the city people. I've always wanted to see the Empire State Building.

_Oh god, Mari, you're wandering. Pull it together!_

_Right, right – together. I can do that. Maybe._

God when I get my hands on Henry I'm going to shake him senseless!

* * *

><p>Henry showed up at 10:26p.m.<p>

My lungs began to function again the minute he walked through the door and slammed right into me. Second time today, and still as painful as the first.

"God Henry I think you fractured my –! Oh my god, _Henry!_" I cried. I threw my arms around the kid who buried his face in my shoulder. His cheeks were cold and his grip was tight as hell. "Where have you _been_?"

"I found her." He said it with so much relief I felt my heart skip a beat. I didn't even have to ask.

He'd found his birth mom.

Oh shit.

He'd found his _birth mom_.

Pulling back, I held him by the shoulders and looked him in the eye. "Henry, _please_ tell me you didn't bring her here," I murmured. Glancing outside, I saw Regina talking to a flustered looking blonde woman around Mary Margaret's age. Oh no. The sheriff walked in, the awkward look on his face confirming the identity of the blonde outside.

"I told you things were going to change," Henry rushed. There was a light in his eyes so bright it hurt. "I found her, Mari." I wrapped my arms around the kid once more, hugging him as tight as I could.

Birth mom. Henry found his birth mom. I swallowed hard, knowing things were about to get real messy real quick. Regina was _not_ the type to play games. If she felt threatened by, oh let's say the mother of her adopted child - she would do everything she could to eliminate the threat. If she forced out Henry's birth mom, the kid would be crushed!

But it was Regina. There was no room for argument, really. If she wanted the birth mom gone, she would be gone by morning and Henry wouldn't even get to say goodbye. I was certain the kid knew this so I refrained from mentioning it. Instead, I switched into sister-mode.

"I missed you Shorty. You had me really worried," I said softly. He hugged me tighter, making it a bit hard to breathe.

"I'm sorry. Did you get in trouble?" he asked hesitantly.

"Pretty sure I'll be fired once your mom gets back in here, but it's no biggie. I'm just so damn glad you're home. _Never_ do that to me again, understood?"

"Understood."

* * *

><p>Regina came back in five minutes later, a forced smile on her face and Henry's birth mom behind her. "Where's Henry?" she asked calmly.<p>

"He went up to his room," Mary Margaret answered. Regina nodded, making her way to the bar and serving herself and the mom some drinks before turning to look at me.

"I expect you here bright and early to pick up Henry for school, and I expect you to stop by my study first. _Clearly,_ we need to exchange words," she said crisply. With that, she turned on her heel and walked toward her study with Henry's birth mom, the pair soon disappearing from my line of sight.

I let out a sigh, nodding to Mary Margaret. "Let's go to the diner. I need to drown my sorrows in some cinnamon hot chocolate." Mary Margaret nodded and we left without another word, closing the door behind us and walking toward Granny's.


	4. Chapter 4

**Take Me Away**

**Chapter Four**

* * *

><p><em>"Marisol! Come out, come out, wherever you are!" the boy sang out. I clung to my vine, praying it wouldn't snap. Hanging over a cliff was one of my few not-so-predictable ideas, and I'd used up all of the others. There were only seven minutes left in the game, I just had to hold on a little longer.<em>

_"Mari, where did you go?" he asked loudly, a mocking tone to his voice that warned me he was near. "At this rate I'll _never_ find you." He was an excellent tracker, but I had an excellent plan._

_"Oh, there you are," I heard him laugh. He peered out over the edge of the cliff and I jumped, biting back a scream. Dammit. He was a touch too early._

_"Remember the rules, Cottontail. Finding me is the easy part. Catching me with no magic is the hard part," I bit out. I was about fifteen feet away from the edge of the cliff, hundreds of feet above the rushing water below._

_"True, but how hard would it be to pull you up or climb on down?" he asked simply._

_"I mean, you could try," I teased. He rolled his eyes, grabbing the vine and tugging roughly. I was jolted up a few inches and I yelped._

_"God Cottontail, I know you like it rough but would it kill you to be _gentle_?" I snapped. He smirked, yanking me up another few inches._

_"Maybe I would be gentler if you didn't try so hard to run away," he smirked. I scoffed, loosening my hold on my vine. It uncoiled from around my hand and I dropped down several inches way too quickly for comfort._

_"Maybe if you had been genuinely gentle since the beginning I wouldn't have ever wanted to run away!" I shouted. I uncoiled more of the vine, falling farther. "But that's the thing about you, Cottontail! Nothing about you is _genuine_ except for your desire to live forever. _That's_ why I need to run. There is no love, just living forever in misery."_

_Two minutes were left. He yanked hard just as I let more of the vine go, and the jolt from the drop and the snap from the yank resulted in the vine tearing in two. A scream tore itself free from my lips as I fell and I waited for the collision with the water below to kill me._

_At least I could be free then. He wouldn't win._

_My scream was cut short when I slammed into a body, all of the air whoosing out of me. I fell just a bit farther before coming to a stop, feeling the body beneath mine. I opened my eyes to see the bluish-greenish-tinged-with-grey eyes of the one person I would die to escape. He gave me a victorious smirk, the smug energy radiating off of his very being._

_"Well, I definitely caught you."_

* * *

><p>I woke up with a jolt, sitting up and looking around wildly. I was on the kitchen floor, chocolate milk in a puddle with shattered glass only a little way away from my head. The heck? I shook my head, getting up and grabbing some windex and the paper towels.<p>

"Mari?" I heard Mary Margaret call groggily. She stepped into the kitchen and woke up pretty quickly when she spotted the mess. "What happened?"

"I, uh, wanted some more cinnamon hot chocolate but I thought I saw a bug and dropped it. No biggie, go back to bed," I dismissed. She watched my carefully, shaking her head and coming over to help me finish cleaning.

"It's two in the morning. Wanna watch a movie?" she asked softly. I sighed, going over to make myself a fresh mug of cinnamon hot chocolate. I didn't want to sit through a movie with my big sister psycho-analyzing me, but I didn't want to sleep either. Sleep meant dreaming and dreaming meant the boy who had actually caught me.

"Sure," I muttered. "You pick."

"Okay, make me some hot chocolate too?" she asked, disappearing into the living room.

"Sure," I called out. I went over to the fridge, grabbing the ingredients before setting to work.

By the time I walked in, holding two _very_ hot mugs, the Disney movie-intro was just finishing with the flick of Tinkerbell's wand. "So tell me darling," I began as I passed Mary Margaret her mug, "which Disney film are we being graced with tonight?"

"Funny you should say darling," she said with a secretive smile. I felt myself light up as I settled in on the couch.

"Which one are we watching?" I asked excitedly.

"Return to Neverland."

"Yes!" I exclaimed, doing a mini fist pump and nearly spilling my drink. Oops.

"Remember, Hook is the one who took Mary Jane for bait and Wendy's all grown up."

"Peter must really have loved Wendy," I muttered. "Going back for her even after all those years - at least, he thought she was the bait anyway."

We sat through the movie making snarky side-comments and sarcastic remarks, Mary Margaret even teasing me for the crush I used to have on the very cute disney character ("Anyone voiced by Jesse McCartney is going to be cute, I tell you!"). When the movie was through, I looked over to see a sleeping sister and I smiled.

"Leave it to you to try to stay up with me and fall asleep," I whispered with a shake of my head. I got up and grabbed a blanket, tossing it over her before taking her mug and heading back to the kitchen. I washed the mugs and put everything away, feeling a breeze brush my bare shoulders. Note to self: It was far too late in the year to keep sleeping in a tank top and short-shorts.

I walked over to the open widow, taking note of how nice out it was tonight despite the cold. I could see all of the stars, sparkling like diamonds but in a way that was far more beautiful. I don't know how long I stood there for, but I felt my gaze wander from star to star, staying on the brightest one in the sky. Of every star I've ever seen, the one I gazed at now had always been the brightest. I could never lose it in the sky, and something about that was really comforting.

"Second star on the right and onward till morning," I whispered. "Man, what I wouldn't give to go to Neverland."

With a new peace of mind, I shut the window and took myself to bed.

* * *

><p><em>I found myself on a beach, walking along the shoreline and looking around. It took me a second to register everything but eventually it clicked. I was back on the island. Or maybe I'd never left - after all, the boy had caught me.<em>

_"Mari?" I heard someone call. I turned, finding a boy around just a little older than Henry walking toward me. He approached carefully, a long stick in his left hand. At the end of it was a sharpened rock, making it much more than just some dumb stick. This boy was armed with a spear._

_"Um, do I know you?" I asked slowly, taking small steps back._

_"It's me ... One," he said equally slow._

_"Um ... is One your name?" He matched every step I took, but the spear remained at his side._

_"Dunno, are you the sea sprite?" His sarcasm was oh so refreshing. I was tempted to tell him I was sure as hell not some sea sprite, but arguing would be pointless. Besides, something about the words made my stomach roll – they sounded too familiar. _

_I rolled my eyes, deciding to go a different way. "Why am I here?"_

_"I was about to ask you the same thing. Do you know how many times I had to tell Two you were never coming back?" he asked angrily. "You were oh so happy to leave, after all."_

_I swallowed hard, feeling a flicker of hope. "I got out?" I surged toward him and grabbed his shoulders. He tensed, but didn't make a move on me. "I won the game?"_

_"Is none of this familiar to you?" he asked dubiously. "You think you'd remember 'the best day of your life'." He began to walk away and I followed, wanting to know more._

_"How did I get out?" My excitement began bubbling over. If I got out once I could get out again. One watched me warily, his mouth opening slightly as he thought over what to say next._

_"I think I need to take you to Pan," One decided._

_"Pan?" Who the hell was that? Then it hit me. "The boy! Oh hell no, I am not going near him. Where the hell – are we on _Neverland_?"_

_"No, we're in the Enchanted Forest," One scoffed with a roll of his eyes. "Of course we're on Neverland. Did someone knock your brains out or something?"_

_"Oh my _god_! So this Pan is _the _Pan? As in _Peter Pan?!_ The leader of the Lost Boys is the same creep who wouldn't let me leave?" I cried, thinking back to my red-headed Disney character. This wasn't right. Peter Pan couldn't be some creepy evil kidnapper-y dude. He was supposed to be all fun and games with a touch of mischief. And he wasn't a brownish-blonde dude, and he didn't have eyes like the boy's. Did Disney seriously get this all wrong or was my brain broken?_

_"Oi, watch who you're talking about," One snapped. I looked at him curiously, taking in his dark hair and grey eyes. He was a touch smaller than he should be._

_"Is Two your twin?"_

_"Sheesh someone really _did _knock out your brain," he laughed. It was a sharp, cruel laugh laced with pain. "'Course he is. Otherwise we wouldn't be _One and Two_."_

_Gosh, did I kick this kid's puppy or something? What did I do to make him so angry?_

_I didn't know where I was following One to as we spoke until I felt the heat of a flame. Soon I saw a bonfire, boys dancing and shouting all over the place. One had brought me to the camp. Oh my god._

_"She's back!" One shouted, catching the attention of everyone within earshot. Oh no. Several boys turned to look at me, various reactions appearing among them. Some looked furious, some looked confused, some had no expression at all, and one came charging toward me. I yelped as I was tackled to the ground, about to fight for my life until I realized the kid was hugging me._

_"I told him you would come back," the boy said into my chest. I let out an awkward cough, poking him to try and get him away from my girl parts._

_"Um, who are you?" I asked. The boy looked up, having the same face as One with the exception of a small scar beside his mouth. "Oh! Two, hi."_

_"You came back," Two grinned._

_"Uh, yeah, I guess I did. How long have I been gone?" Two opened his mouth, ready to answer when he was interrupted._

_"C'mon now Two, don't forget to share," an unfortunately familiar voice called. Everyone froze, except for Two who took a step to my side. I swallowed hard, watching as the tall and lean, brown haired, blue-green-grey-eyed boy stepped forward. He walked up to me with ease, but there was a gleam in his eyes that told me to take ten steps back._

_"Peter Pan," I whispered. He nodded, a smirk lifting the right half of his mouth._

_"Good to see you again, love. It's been a while."_

_"If only it could have been longer," I grumbled. My eyes widened and I took a step back, realizing what I had said. Peter Pan simply laughed, the cruel sound filling the space around us as the Lost Boys watched._

_"I see you haven't changed in the twenty-eight_ years_ you've been_ _gone," he bit out. I gaped at him._

_"Um, if you haven't noticed, I'm seventeen. It's physically_ impossible_ for me to have been gone twenty-eight years_,_" I pointed out._

_He nodded. "Maybe so, but magic is a funny thing. Would you like to know something, my little sea sprite?" A shiver went down my spine at the name, my mind trying to put everything together._

_"Sure," I muttered. "Knowledge is power, after all." His smirk only grew._

_"You're dreaming," he said simply. I scoffed._

_"No shit," I bit out. "Neverland is a fairy tale. Any other obvious information you've got for me?"_

_"Well, if you're visiting Neverland in a dream, it means you want to come _back_. _Which means_, I can send my shadow to go get you."_

_"Your what?" My voice cracked, a sudden dryness in my throat. That didn't sound good._

_"I'll see you soon, my pet. But right now, it's time to wake up."_


	5. Chapter 5

**Take Me Away**

**Chapter 5**

* * *

><p>I walked into the Mills house slowly, trying to avoid my imminent doom.<p>

"I know you're there, Marisol."

Ah shit.

I walked into Regina's study without a word, closing the door and coming to stand in front of her desk. She gave me a smile that screamed this was all business before motioning me to sit. I did so slowly, watching her watch my every move.

"So," I began carefully. "I'm fired, yeah?"

She waited a moment before uttering one word. "No."

_"No?"_ I asked dubiously. After the hellish night I'd had, something working in my favor seemed like even more of a long shot than Regina having a heart. Yet here were examples of both in one go.

"While you _did_ act so carelessly that my son was able to slip off on his own and leave town, you _are_ the most capable person for the job and the only one Henry is fully at ease around. _However, _should something like this _ever_ happen again I shall see to it that you are punished accordingly. Furthermore, you'll be giving me a report on the day's events everyday after you drop off Henry until I see that you've got everything back under control. Are we clear?" Regina asked solidly.

"Crystal," I muttered. I glanced at my watch, noting that it was time to go unless I wanted to be late. "I have to take Henry to school now. May I?"

She nodded and I got out of her study as quickly as I could, popping into the kitchen and finding Henry grabbing himself some food.

"I'll take a cream cheese bagel, sesame seeds on top, yeah?" I asked with a tired grin. Henry jumped, choking on his toast before forcing some orange juice down his throat.

"You're here!" Henry grinned at me just as a sesame seed bagel popped out of the toaster.

"Looks like you knew I was coming," I smirked. He slathered cream cheese all over both halves of the bagel, putting them together and hanging them to me in a napkin.

"What did she do to you?" Henry asked nervously. I sighed, wrapping an arm around the kid and guiding him out of the house.

"See, thanks to your little _stunt_ I'm supposed to keep you on a leash. Which pretty much means only taking you from home to school, school to work, and work to home. Then I'm supposed to give your mother a very _detailed_ report of the day's events until she decides she doesn't need them anymore. So, for today you are under a very tight leash. Then tomorrow I'm not gonna give a shit and the Ice Queen over there will probably have my head," I grumbled.

"_Evil_ Queen," Henry corrected. I laughed.

"Your fairy tales are really getting to my head, Shorty."

"What do you mean?" Henry asked with an arch of his brow. There was a look in his eyes that told me I was about to feed a fire I shouldn't, but I told him anyway.

"You know I've been having crazy dreams," I muttered. "That stupid island and all."

"Yeah?"

"Well, according to my dreams, the island is Neverland and creepy kidnapper guy is Peter Pan – which, by the way, _isn't_ the cute little redhead from the Disney movies," I said with a sigh. It really wasn't fair, he didn't even _sound _like Jesse McCartney.

"They're not _dreams_, Mari." I rolled my eyes.

"They're not _memories_, either, Henry. I'm not a character in your book, I'm a person. We can argue this a million times over but facts are facts. These dreams are just that, and _this _is reality." He shook his head at me, walking along with a look on his face that told me this conversation wasn't over.

"You'll see what I'm talking about. Eventually, you'll remember." The conviction in his voice was too strong, making me glad I left out the details of what happened _after _my dream.

* * *

><p>I sighed, walking along a cut off section of the beach as Henry paced around an old wooden kid's structure that we called his castle. The kid had had a pretty rough day from what I'd heard. When he was in his only outdoor class his mother (the adoptive one) had shown up, given my sister attitude, and told Henry that his mother (the biological one) had been thrown in the slammer for something or other. The kid had a fit of defiance, telling Regina that she had somehow framed Henry's birth mom, Emma. Regina eventually stormed out of the school and let him go back to class, and when I got out of school the kid practically begged me to skip work and take him to the castle. I'd been ignoring Regina's calls on our whereabouts all afternoon, taking time now to reflect on my royally screwed up day.<p>

My thoughts wandered back to last night, to what happened after I'd escaped my dream of Peter Pan playing in my head.

_I woke up in a sweat, struggling to breathe as I tried to untangle myself from a mess of sheets. I stumbled out of bed, taking note of how dark it was in my bedroom, as if someone had gone and blotted out the moon and all of its stars. Pan's words echoed through my mind, the thought of his shadow coming to take me away sending my heart into overdrive. I made for the window, ripping back the silky curtains. Moonlight streamed in, making it just a touch easier to breathe. The light cast shadows around my room, making it suddenly very clear that I couldn't win here. If there was light, there was shadows and if there was darkness there was fear. _

Whoa Mari, you're going a bit nuts don't you think?_ I asked myself. _Get some air, kid.

_Following my own orders, I unlatched the window and pushed it open to welcome the night air. A cool breeze rushed in, fanning my face and drying my sticky skin. Clouds had begun to roll in across the sky, blotting out half of the stars and making the night gray. But one annoying and ever-present star twinkled at me mischievously, reminding me again of the one and only Peter Pan. "God," I grumbled. "If you're the one who runs Neverland you can bet your Lost Boys that I am_ never_ going back." With one last breath of fresh air, i turned away from my window to go back to bed._

_Of course, I wasn't expecting the floating _thing _with the golden eyes. I let out a shriek, stumbling back into my desk and hearing something shatter as the thing reached for me. It was black and long, like a man, and it moved so fast I could barely keep track of it. I reached behind me and grabbed the first thing I could get my hands on, which happened to be a stapler, before swinging at the thing. My hand made contact and i felt a shock of cold, but the thing reared back and gave me a quick once over._

_"I'm not going back," I cried. "I don't want to." As if I'd spoken the word of God, the thing rushed forward and out the window. I shrieked once more as it passed, but once it was gone I slammed the window shut and locked it as tight as I could. Praying that I was still in a nightmare, I stumbled back to bed and crawled under the covers, yanking them over my head and trying to force myself back to sleep. Despite the lack of oxygen under the blanket, I managed to convince myself that I would wake and in the morning and find out none of this was real._

_Except when I woke up in the morning, shivering and curled in a ball, I got out of bed to find a shattered flower vase near my desk. Swallowing hard, I got the sweeping pan and the broom, collecting the bits of the once beautiful vase and throwing them in the trash before getting ready for school. It hadn't been a dream. Unless the wind had gotten passed my closed window and knocked over my three pound glass vase, the only explanation was that I had knocked over the vase in my struggle with Peter Pan's shadow._

I shook my head. It had been too long a day and I couldn't keep playing the scene in my head, but I did it anyway. I wasn't going crazy, but I couldn't exactly tell anyone what was going on either. I'd have to go see Doctor Hopper for the rest of my life if I did that, so the only person I really had to look this over with was the same person I would see in a mirror. Myself.

"Some sort of _thing_ was in my room last night and it wasn't _human_. I'm either going crazy or some creepy magic thing is going on where some boy breaks into my mind and sends shadows out to get me." I felt like I was going to be sick. "God, first this, then Regina and Henry. What's next, am I going to get hit by a bus?"

_Don't jinx it_, I thought to myself.

"That would be the least of my problems today. I can't even go home and sleep because, chances are, I'm going to have another dream. This is even worse than having to deal with Freddy Kruger." I seat in the sand, wishing I could forget today even happened.

Maybe I _should_ go see Dr. Hopper.

_I'm not crazy._

_You're not okay, either._

"Have I ever really been okay?" I asked quietly. Before I could think it over, I looked up to see none other than Henry's birth mom approaching the castle. Clearly, today just wasn't going to work out for me.


End file.
